The Soccer Thread (Version 15) — I Got 115 Problems But a Pep Ain’t One

Celtic is a good team to watch. Or St. Mirren sucks balls.

 

RIP, Sven

Ex-England manager Eriksson dies aged 76

 

Both!

 

I blame baseball.

Washington Spirit rookie Croix Bethune suffers season-ending knee injury throwing out Nats first pitch

 

LOL I was just coming here to post this. SAN MARINO FOREVER!!!!

 

Two coaches from Chelsea last season.

 

Can somebody explain 1) Nations League and 2) why Ireland sucks so much?

 

History!

Breaking down the highest-scoring penalty shootout in English football history

 

UEFA desperately attempting to create stakes, and thus cash, for international friendly windows. It wouldn't matter at all if they also didn't use it as a path for minnows to backdoor their way into the Euros a la Georgia in 2024, Macedonia in 2020 and Albania in both.

Assuming you're referring to the Republic of Ireland football team, I'd say generally they punch around their weight. They've finished second of six in their World Cup qualifying group in four of the last seven cycles but lost playoffs three times in those four instances.

• In 1998, they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Belgium.
• In 2002, UEFA drew one second-place team, them, to avoid UEFA playoffs and go through the ostensibly weaker intercontinental route, where they topped Iran.
• In 2006, Ireland finished fourth in their six-team qualifying group even though, in 10 games, they lost ONE match and allowed FIVE goals in the entire group (France went 5-0-5, Switzerland and Israel both went 4-0-6 and Ireland 4-1-5). Had they equalized against France at home in their one loss or got a winner in any of their five draws they would have at least made the playoffs.
• 2010 was the infamous Thierry Henry handball game.
• 2014, they were pretty crap and finished fourth of six in their group, but it didn't help they were drawn against a German side that won that World Cup and won their two games by a combined 9-1.
  
• 2018, they were in a winner-take-all second leg playoff against Denmark and scored early, then gave up five unanswered, three to Christian Eriksen
• 2022, crap again, starting off by losing their first group stage game in qualifying at home to Luxembourg

As for the Euros, Ireland lost playoffs in 1996 (Netherlands), 2000 (Turkey, on away goals) and 2020 (Slovakia, away on penalties) and won playoffs in 2012 (Estonia) and 2016 (Bosnia).

It seems like their form has been abysmal for a while (it probably didn't help that both England players who scored on them could have represented Ireland), but when you consider that Ireland has a population of roughly 5,000,000 people, smaller than that of Alabama, I'd say that's pretty decent.

 

That was some game between City and the Gunners